Powering a community-scale DC grid to achieve zero emissions in remote areas

加拿大是致力于到2050年实现温室气体净零排放的全球运动的一部分。减少排放的一种方法是使用太阳能等可再生能源（RES）而不是化石燃料发电。这对偏远和发展中地区的社区尤其重要，这些社区依靠柴油供电，而且由于在偏远地区修建输电线路的成本过高，往往无法进入主电网。在马尼托巴，70%的土著人口居住在该省的北方，远离主要城市，这导致了能源获取方面的不平等。基于分布式RES（例如太阳能）和能量存储系统（ESS）的离网电力系统（PS）是为房屋提供电力的替代解决方案。然而，单个房屋的ESS容量是有限的，这造成了能源可用性的问题。这种限制可以通过发展社区规模的微电网（MG）基础设施来克服。为了实现这一点，房屋可以相互连接并连接到中央RES和ESS，并且可以采用智能控制机制来调节MG中电力的有效使用和稳定性。我们会采用直流配电网取代传统的交流电网，以避免在电力转换及输送过程中出现不必要的损耗。 DC MG的设计和评估存在挑战。社区规模的MG必须与家庭规模的次级MG隔离，以避免安全和噪音问题。电力电子（PE）变压器代表了一种用于连接直流电网的解决方案。同样，高效的太阳能和ESS转换器必须设计成与直流电网兼容。社区规模DC MG内的能源协调需要先进的机器学习算法来维护和预测电网内的能源可用性。众所周知，在仿真和实际系统之间存在着很大的技术差距，因为动力装置中存在许多非理想元件。基于PE的功率硬件在环（PHIL）平台可以通过提供用于在实验室中评估新型DC MG设计的半物理系统来帮助弥合技术差距。一个10 kW的MG PHIL系统将在实验室中运行。MG原型将模拟一个小规模的社区PS，它集成了RES，ESS和Sub-MG在房屋中的控制能力的演示新设计的控制器。这种创新、小型、高效、实用且完全可控的MG演示器将支持这些技术向工业的转移。该计划将培养12名HQP（4名博士，3名硕士和5名理学士），他们将获得PE和PS的实践经验。拟议的系统将促进技术和业务发展的真实的时间模拟器制造商和MG供应商在加拿大。此外，它将帮助加拿大实现所有公民的电力公平，并在2050年前实现净零排放。

Canada is part of a global movement that has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One way to reduce emissions is to produce electricity using Renewable Energy Sources (RES) like solar, rather than fossil fuels. This is particularly relevant to communities in remote and developing areas, which rely on diesel to provide electricity and often have no access to the main grid due to the prohibitive costs of building transmission lines in remote locations. In Manitoba, 70% of the Indigenous population lives in the Northern part of the province, far from the main cities, and this has led to inequity in terms of energy access. An off-grid power system (PS) based on distributed RES, e.g. solar, and Energy Storage System (ESS) is an alternative solution to provide electric power for houses. However, the ESS capacity of a single house is limited which creates issues of energy availability. This limitation can be overcome by developing community-scale Microgrid (MG) infrastructures. To achieve this, houses could be inter-connected and connected to central RES and ESS, and smart control mechanisms can be employed to regulate the efficient use and stability of power in the MG. Direct Current (DC) distribution instead of conventional Alternating Current (AC) grid network would be used to avoid unnecessary losses in power conversion and transmission. There are challenges to the design and evaluation of a DC MG. Community-scale MGs must be isolated from house-scale Sub-MGs to avoid safety and noise issues. Power Electronics (PE) Transformers represent a solution for interfacing the DC grids. Similarly, efficient solar and ESS converters have to be designed that are compatible with a DC grid. Energy coordination within the community-scale DC MG requires advanced machine learning algorithms to maintain and predict energy availability within the grid. It is well-known that there is a large technology gap that lies between simulation and practical systems, as there are many non-ideal components in power apparatuses. A PE based Power-Hardware-In-the-Loop (PHIL) platform can help to bridge the technical gap by providing a semi-physical system for evaluation of novel DC MG designs in a lab. A 10kW MG PHIL system will be constructed to run in a lab. The MG prototype will simulate a small-scale community PS which integrates RES, ESS and Sub-MGs in houses with a demonstration of the control capability of newly designed controllers. This innovative, small, efficient, practical and fully controllable MG demonstrator will support the transfer of these technologies to industry. The proposed program will train 12 HQP (4 PhD, 3 MSc and 5 BSc), who will gain practical experience with PE and PS. The proposed system will facilitate technology and business development for both real time simulator manufacturers and MG providers in Canada. Furthermore, it will help Canada achieve power equity for all citizens and still achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.